The Republic of India (India) is a federal republic, governed by a bicameral parliament.

India has a population of approximately 1.095 billion people. According to the United Nations Population Division, with an annual population growth rate of 1.65%, India's population will surpass that of China's in the year 2045. India's land mass is just over 3.2 million sq. km, roughly one third the size of the U.S. India has a GDP of $3.6 trillion in terms of purchasing power parity, or $719 billion using a hard U.S. dollar exchange rate.

India is a net importer of goods. For the period April 2005-March 2006, India's imports were $142.4 billion, representing growth over the previous year's same period of 27.7%1. Exports for that period were $102.7 billion, representing a growth over the previous year of 22.97%1.

Advantages

Foreign trade between the U.S. and India is growing at a rate of 30% per year according to Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Douglas Hartwick. Based on statistics from Enterprise Florida, India is the State of Florida's 27th largest international trading partner with $836 million in overall trade in 2005. This represented an increase of nearly 50% over the previous year. Florida exports to India were $374 million in 2005 and represented a growth of 181%. Indian exports to Florida were $461.9 million and represented a 4.7% increase over the previous year. Of the $374 million in Florida exports to India, $335 million were Florida-Origin exports.

Disadvantages

The poverty rate in India, the world's 2nd most populous country, is 25%. The World Bank estimates that as many as 290 million people live in poverty in India. The World Health Organization reports that with 5.1 million HIV/AIDS cases, India is second only to South Africa in number of people infected with the virus, and given the poverty, dense population and other factors, the region will continue to increasingly suffer the brunt of the epidemic. Given the large number of college graduates, and the widespread use of English, and lower average wages, India has become a popular location for business process outsourcing. The U.S. Trade Representative has also made opening Indian markets to American agricultural goods a priority however India has been slow to implement changes in this area.

Conclusion

Given the growth in Florida exports to India, and market potential that the growth of the Indian economy presents, the Broward County Office of Economic Development recommends the exploration of increased trade relations with the Republic of India.